EAST NORRITON ­­— Einstein Medical Center Montgomery (EMCM) has asked East Norriton officials for $726,498 because the construction costs for sewer improvements and the widening of Germantown Pike exceeded the financial commitments made by the hospital to the township.

The Dec. 23, 2008, resolution approving the preliminary site plans for the $350 million, 146-bed hospital on West Germantown Pike included legal provisions limiting the amount of money Einstein Medical Center would pay for the two construction projects.

The resolution stipulated that if the cost of sewer improvements exceeded $2.5 million, or the cost of roadway improvements exceeded $5.2 million, then the hospital would pay the additional costs of the construction to a maximum of $1,375,000.

“In actuality, the road improvements were $6,318,009,” attorney Marcel Groen, representing EMCM, said in a June 7 letter to township officials. “Sewer work was $3,484,488. The total moneys expended by Einstein was $9,802,498. A complete set of invoices for the work is attached to this letter. The total overage paid by Einstein pursuant to the agreement is $726,498.”

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Groen explained the letter to the Board of Supervisors at its June 25 meeting.

“Under the agreement the township is responsible for the overage costs,” he said. “It is not unusual for improvement costs to be higher than the estimates. The agreement indicates that it is capped for the developer. There had to be additional work done to acquire the right of ways. Some of the existing conditions were different from the estimates.”

“This is a lot to swallow at one time,” supervisors Chairman John Zurzola said,

“The township is getting a tremendous amount of value,” Groen replied. “There ought to be a way to work this out.”

“Some of these may be change orders that were the hospital’s responsibility,” Supervisor Don Gracia said. “This needs to be audited.”

Gracia is the only member of the current board who voted on the 2008 resolution. The other four supervisors were elected afterward.

The board referred the letter and invoices to the township traffic engineer, Delamater and Solicitor Sean Kilkenny.

“My office will look at the agreements closely,” Kilkenny said. “Once we get the audit we will continue to have a conversation with the hospital.”

The five-story hospital building was built in 2011 and 2012 and opened on Sept. 29, 2012. In April the hospital announced plans to add 24 medical/surgical beds to an administration office area of the hospital.